Page 14 of Freak Camp
Jake shuffled the cards slowly, thinking hard about monsters, Tobias, and what Dad would say.
When he looked up, he saw Tobias staring in fascination at the cards flying together.
Tobias caught Jake’s eyes, and a smile flickered across his face.He looked again like just an amazed little kid.“That’s really awesome,” he said.“That ...thing.”He gestured at the cards and mimed shuffling them.“What ...how do you ...is it arealthing?”
Jake frowned.“A real thing?”
“You know, a thing real humans can do that a monster couldn’t?I mean, like me.Could I do that?”
“Sure, give it a try.”
Jake watched Tobias fumble with the deck.He gave him a few pointers at shuffling until Tobias could almost do it, though nowhere near as fast as Jake could.Jake liked teaching him, and he almost broke a rib holding back a laugh while he watched Tobias painstakingly handle the deck, the tip of his tongue sticking out of one corner of his mouth while his small hands managed the big, worn cards.
Once Tobias had gotten the basics down, smiling proudly and eyes gleaming as he glanced up at Jake, Jake grinned back.He felt like he’d just come to a decision, an important one, though he couldn’t put it into words yet.
“Wanna learn go fish?”he asked.“It’s real easy.”
Tobias still looked worried.“You’re sure you won’t mind if I ...don’t lose?I mean, you said you wouldn’t, but if I’m new at a game, I won’t be able to figure out how to ...”
“Toby, there’s one thing I want you to never do,” Jake said.
Tobias sat up straighter.“What?”
“Let me win.”Jake shuffled the cards, twice as fast as Tobias had.“Because if you get good enough to make sure I win, then that’d mean I’m super bad at the gameandtoo stupid to see you cheating.And that would just be embarrassing.Got that?”
“Yes, Jake.”Tobias grinned, a bigger smile than Jake had seen since Tobias had first seen him in the yard.“You’re the best.”
By the time a guard came around the corner to tell Jake that Leon was waiting, he had successfully taught Tobias the games war, go fish, and what he knew about poker.He had a feeling he’d gone wrong somewhere with poker, but the result was still fun for both of them.Next time he saw Tobias, Jake promised himself that he would be able to teach him the real version.He’d make sure that Dad taught him the rest of the rules.
“Sorry, Jake,” Dad said, rubbing a hand over his face.He looked exhausted.That made sense.Jake had slept in the car on the drive over here, but that meant that Dad had been up for twenty-four hours or so.Jake couldn’t wait until he could help Dad with the driving.“You do okay without me?”
“Yes, sir.Me and ...”He almost mentioned Tobias, but stopped himself.Dad had dealt with a lot of monsters today.He didn’t need to think about another one.And Jake had the whole thing with Tobias under control.He wasn’t at all like other monsters.“I took care of myself.No problem.”
Leon nodded.“Good.Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Jake followed him out.Right before he left the yard, he glanced back.
Tobias was smiling at him.Jake just barely stopped himself from waving.
***
Whatever the lloronahad told Dad meant that they had more business at Freak Camp.He and Jake coasted around Utah, taking care of a few rogue spirits and poking into the occasional hokey Sasquatch sighting, but every couple of weeks they turned back for northern Nevada.Jake didn’t know what the deal was, and he knew better than to think Dad would give him the details, but from what Dad muttered under his breath during the long drives, he didn’t trust the Dixons to handle it alone or to share everything they found.
That made sense, of course.Jake didn’t mind their frequent trips back to Freak Camp.The guards knew Jake now and would let him into the yard where he could find Tobias.They’d head to some out-of-sight corner where Jake would pull out his card deck or some other miniature road trip game Dad had gotten him.He once found a half-finished candy bar in his pocket and offered it to Tobias, whose astonishment at the taste made Jake laugh.He couldn’t believe the kid hadneverhad candy before, so he started bringing different kinds for Tobias to try, whatever he could slip into his pockets.
He didn’t talk much about Tobias to Dad.He knew exactly what Dad would say, and it wasn’t anything that Jake didn’t already know.Sure, Tobias might be a monster, but he was already secure in Freak Camp, and he didn’t have extra-sharp teeth or claws or any other way of hurting him.
Jake was pretty sure Tobias wouldn’t have tried to hurt him even if he had the chance, anyway.Tobias always looked like Jake’s arrival was the cherry on his sundae, the best thing that could have happened to him that week.Jake liked feeling important, like he mattered that much to someone, even if it was just to a monster kid.But he found it harder and harder to think of Tobias as a monster—at least, not like the ones Dad killed.Tobias was different.He was justTobias, and that was enough for Jake.He didn’t think he’d be able to explain that to Dad, though.
That was also why he liked to take Tobias somewhere without guards watching everything they did.It didn’t matter if Jake and Tobias were playing cards or eating Snickers bars, it wasn’t any of the adults’ business—Jake was a hunter, so they should trust him and leave him alone.
One unusually warm November day, they sat against a wall of the barracks, as far as they could get from the guards’ curious eyes, and passed a bag of chocolate-coated peanuts back and forth.
“So, this Becca chick, she’s like your mom, right?”Jake said, dumping four or five peanuts into his mouth and then holding the bag out to Tobias.
Tobias never took the bag or grabbed more than a couple of peanuts at a time, but at least he wasn’t wincing and looking out for the guards every time Jake pushed the bag in his face.“Yeah.She takes care of me, she ...”Tobias shrugged and put the candies in his mouth.“You must have a mom.What’s she like?”
Jake looked away and tried to act casual.“She’s perfect.”
